Municipal planning should put mobility needs first

After reading the article about the super-wide sidewalks on Needham Street, in downtown Fredericton, memories returned me to those years, long ago, when I lived on Charlotte Street, before I got a wheelchair or a scooter or a walker (for in home use only). I used to walk to work, stepping along, using well-worn wooden crutches. I still have them! So many of those sidewalks were a floppy spastic walker’s nightmare. Deep pits and broken sections. Scary! Many are still scary. Baby boomers and beyond demand and deserve upgrades to those necessities for a safe quality of life. Aging well involves exercise and walking is one of the best. I never understood folks paying thousands of dollars for ‘walking’ equipment to be used in the house when that particular movement, combined with fresh air is one of THE best exercises. According to my late father, walking and swimming were excellent exercises from cradle to grave. 

At 66, aging with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, I still walk, using a hand touching a counter, furniture or a wall to guide/balance my way along in my home. Now, I have to be watchful for a puppy as I move about; he’s convinced that whatever’s in my hand must be in his mouth — he leaps at me. Behaving better as he matures, he’s learning to live with a lopsided old broad of the human variety and a crotchety old diva of the canine variety. Chez Rockwell is NOT a man’s world! For now, he’s a country boy.

City living is something I’ve considered revisiting but in these times of COVID, moving is not an option at least for now. It’s nice to know, though, that city sidewalks are transforming, making movement  easier for those who are differently able; more efficient and safe. Safety is critical. I’d be able to easily use my wheelchair, tethering a dog to each arm as I did in the 80s, when I, my husband, a pair of terriers shared and 4 cats shared a downtown apartment. On my own with the dogs, living in Fredericton would be a great opportunity for more social connection. Perhaps before I’m 70! 

Making changes to foot and ‘wheeling’ traffic paths would assist those with mobility disorders in a very significant way. In their current state, many sidewalks across the province and across the country are not safe. For many in my age range, we are, in reality, one serious fall away from care home living. Improving surface quality of sidewalks and other areas of foot traffic where users of wheelchairs and walkers travel also contributes to the  economy. Health and wellness  allows for continuity in the work force which stimulates the economy.  Many persons with disability have paid their way for many decades of working life. It is only fitting that the places where they live are accessible to them for leisure activities or for conducting personal business, like walking or wheeling to shops and entertainment venues.

An added bonus of widened sidewalks and safer paths for foot, bicycle and assistive devices mobility is that automobile congestion is lessened. Having people out and about, interacting and involved in their communities lends support to local economy. Even in these COVID times, exercising mask compliance and social distancing, people can still maintain community connection. Though physical and emotional landscapes have altered, perhaps forever, that may not be a bad thing as folks get on board with working with the changes as they present themselves. Community planners united with residents living with challenges to mobility could develop walking paths and outdoor spaces that are more inclusive and safe. 

Based on the literature, statistics bear out that an engaged, active senior or person with disability is less of a burden on the health care system and more likely to be involved in community life on a sustained basis if components of accessibility are maintained; like sidewalks, public washrooms,  access to shops and other places where goods and services are available.  Widening sidewalks, making them safer, is one way that communities can enhance quality of life for those with challenges to daily living. A serious fall on sidewalks that have become unsafe has serious consequences for anyone, but for someone like me, who relies on hands and arms as part of freedom of movement, a fall could prevent me from meeting my daily needs. 

Cost of sidewalk/pathways upgrades would be mimimal compared to the health care costs associated with caring for a fall recovery patient at home or in hospital. Improvements would pay for themselves in short order in a forward moving economy. A win-win!

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, the boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at Carla MacInnis Rockwell

Here's how we care for each other during COVID

“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s words are timely in our new age of COVID.

With so many of us confined to quarters because of the global pandemic known as COVID, we’ve had to come up with ways to maintain our mental and emotional health, as well as meeting the needs of physical self-care. 

The way of learning for children, from nursery/kindergarten through high school has changed dramatically, with pod learning growing in popularity in neighbourhoods across the country. Aside from that, how people occupy themselves ‘after hours’ is critical to emotional wellness. Board games, story time and reading are particularly good ways to engage younger children. Learning how to make a grocery list, budgeting and meal planning are ‘tools of the trade’ of independent living for older children that can be undertaken at the kitchen table. Perhaps one child could video tape a meal prep with a running commentary. Expanded into journaling, these are all opportunities for learning to live in the world. Families still have to eat!

With holiday time and family gatherings upon us, many are struggling with what to do and how to do it — safely. How we celebrate long-standing family traditions and community holiday activities has changed significantly and many are finding the emotional toll is wearing them  down. But they’re not out. It’s important to involve all members of the family, as their age allows, in planning celebrations during COVID confinement, mindful that ‘this, too, shall pass’. If we all do our part, COVID will become a distant memory and our lives will return to some semblance of normal. In the meantime, be WE people, which is  the best way to ensure that members of families and of communities stay healthy, giving health care professionals a reprieve from wondering who’s next. They’re exhausted, too, but they keep on going, looking forward to their own family time.

Home-bound gatherings can become something unique and memorable, using ourselves, our talents and our life experience to create a holiday season that won’t be forgotten. In fact, some of the things we do to make it through, without all that we knew from holidays past, may find their way into celebrations in our futures. It’s easy to talk about cliché silver linings but ultimately how we conduct ourselves in our own bubbles impacts how others around us will respond and accept that it’s more important to follow one simple ‘rule’ - wear a mask. COVID is scary; we all know this and those of us who are considered ‘at risk’ must be extra vigilant. 

Pandemic ‘down time’ is a perfect opportunity to embrace the value and joy of reading; quietly reading on ones own, reading to young children, or reading to seniors who appreciate the time spent, human  to human to share a good story.

COVID confinement presents a host of  stressors that have impacted the very young to the very old with days seeming to run into each other with the ‘sameness’ of routine. Lost is the out and about business in small villages and larger communities, which contributes to  enhanced quality of life. This down time has been particularly challenging for seniors, especially those who live with any sort of illness/unwellness that already diminishes community participation. The isolation is palpable. Holiday time when families, large or small, gather to share a few days together, with traditional meals prepared with many hands are not going to be possible in this time of COVID unless people are vigilant about mask wearing, distancing and quarantining after a ‘bubble banter’.

More common in the US, but a concern here in Canada is that schools opened with various COVID protocols in place and things chugged along fine for awhile until one or two ‘bad apples’ derailed everything with essentially a toddler tantrum. Adults, parents of children who must be in school, however it is formed in these times, must stop being so thoughtless. The minor inconvenience of wearing a mask when not able to socially distance is the least we can do to keep each other and our community healthy and safe. To view mask wearing as a violation of one’s rights is a form of abuse against community. Sadly, there are some among us who spent their entire lives thinking only of themselves, now giving no thought to the reality that COVID impacts everyone  — all of us!

There is so much that we can do to get through these uncertain times. Though there are many places in this province and others across the country that are not part of the information highway, the internet is a tool that allows for a type of connection that can contribute to stabilizing emotional health of those most at risk; the chronically shut-in. Reach out and tweet someone! 

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, the boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at Carla MacInnis Rockwell